Leominster Credit Union is Toys for Tots drop-off site

Friday

Nov 28, 2008 at 6:00 AM

For the sixteenth consecutive year, Leominster Credit Union (LCU) is participating in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots Campaign. For more than six decades, the Toys for Tots annual effort has collected and distributed presents to needy children each Christmas.

As one of this year’s sponsors, LCU has strategically placed in each of its offices large bins for donations of new, unwrapped toys. The donations are regularly transported by Marine Reservists and volunteers to a central warehouse, where the toys are sorted by age- and gender-appropriateness. With the help of local social agencies and churches, the presents are distributed to local children in time for Christmas.

Toys for Tots was started in 1947 by Major Bill Henricks, U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, and a handful of Reservists in Los Angeles. The first donation was a Raggedy Ann doll that had been handcrafted by Major Henricks’ wife, Diane.

While expanding into nearly 600 communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, Toys for Tots’ goal has remained unchanged: “To deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.”

During its many years of service, Toys for Tots has collected and distributed more than 370 million Christmas gifts to 173 million children.

Donations of new, unwrapped toys can be made at any LCU branch office through Dec. 17, including branches in Clinton and Sterling.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.